Page 97 of Script Swap
“Good evening, Dash,” Fox said as they joined me.They were dressed tonight in a more modest take on their usual style—restrained might have been a better word for it: a velvet waistcoat, an enormous shirt with the sleeves cuffed three or four times so that Fox’s hands weren’t swallowed up in the fabric, trousers with a charcoal pin stripe.And, of course, boots with buckles that I would absolutelyloveto call Pilgrimcore.(Is Pilgrimcore a thing?If not, it should be.) “Thank you for coming.”
“Fox, oh my God, this is incredible.”
“This?It’s a little something I threw together for my friends.”
I managed not to smile.But I did gesture to the pieces closest to me.“These are the ones you made for yourself.”
“I made them all for myself, Dash.But yes, these are the ones I made even though I knew—well, how does my father like to put it?They’re ‘modern art trash.’”When I opened my mouth to say something, Fox held up a hand.“It was a bad joke.Yes, Dash.Thank you for noticing.”
“I love them.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad you made them.”
Fox gave me a smile.
“I don’t know how else to say that,” I said.“I’m happy they exist.The world is a better place because you made them.Do you know what I thought when I looked at this one?”I motioned to the mixed-media piece that showed the too-big moon rising over that crooked version of Hastings Rock.“I thought, ‘That’s right.’And then I thought, ‘How have I never seen it like that before?’”
“Well,” Fox said quietly.A second ticked past.Then another.And then, in a different voice, they murmured, “Thank you, Dash.”
We stood there a moment, considering the mobile with its posed wedding dresses.Around us, people continued to revolve.Cyd Wofford, the town’s resident Marxist, was explicating the underlying socialist message of one of Fox’s paintings to Bliss Wilson, who had apparently forgotten her cheaters and was trying to get her phone out of her bra.
“Also, this is way too late, and for some reason Hallmark doesn’t make cards for this kind of thing, but thank you for saving my life.”
“Happy to be of service.Ididdrag you into it.Thank you for everything you did to help me and my father.”
“How did you know I was in trouble?”
They looked slightly pained.“I didn’t.I was running late, and then when I got there, Nora was already marching you around with that gun.I called the sheriff, and then I had no idea what to do—I couldn’t run in there, or Nora would shoot me.I decided I’d try to distract her from the catwalk and hope you could make your escape—or at least keep her busy until the deputies arrived—but then I saw Betty, and, well, the rest is history.”
“The rest is history?The rest is the part where you saved my life.”
“Oh yes, I’ll be sure to remind you about it frequently.”
“How’s your dad?”
“He’ll survive,” Fox said dryly.“They’re still not sure how long he’ll need to stay at this new facility, but I’m not sure that bothers him; he’s already courting one of the assistants—she’s almost forty, which makes her shockingly acceptable compared to my father’s usual tastes.”
“I’m sure he’s upset about the play.Did he lose a lot of money?”
“Oh, it’s all insured.He’ll land on his feet; he always does.Do you know what he was most upset about?”
“The logical answer is Nora trying to kill him, so I’m guessing that’s not it.”
A surprisingly wicked grin flashed across Fox’s face.“He’s outraged that Nora didn’t actually consider him a threat and only attacked him to draw our attention—I believe his exact words were ‘like I was nothing but a convenient prop.’Now he’s convinced himself that he suspected her all along.”
A laugh worked its way out of me.“Good God.”
“Yes, well, that’s my father for you.”A pause stopped him.“Jonni did come to say goodbye.”
“That was kind of her.”
“She’s not a bad person.An unhappy one, I think.And one who causes more trouble than she ought to.”
“She must be going through a lot.Learning about Ray.About what happened.And then being arrested.”
Fox nodded, but they said, “Do you know, I think she’ll be better for it in the long run?I think not knowing for all those years was harder.”
